NBC/Marist Poll: One in Three Iowa Republicans Dislike Christie

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was arriving in Iowa on Thursday for a three-city swing as a new poll revealed that one in three Republicans voters in the state dislike him.

The NBC News/Marist poll shows that 33 percent of voters view the GOP governor negatively while another survey from the same pollsters showed that 31 percent of Republican voters in New Hampshire don’t care for him either.

However, 50 percent of Republicans in Iowa and 52 percent in New Hampshire like the governor, who is testing the waters for a possible White House run with his trips to the two early presidential nominating states.

Christie’s negative rating is far greater in these two states than the rest of the possible GOP presidential contenders, according to the two NBC/Marist polls.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul received a favorable rating of 66 percent in Iowa compared to 18 percent who didn’t like him, while the numbers were 71 percent positive to 15 percent negative in New Hampshire.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was 44 percent positive and 11 percent negative in Iowa, while in New Hampshire he was 50 percent positive to just 7 percent negative.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, received 44-19 percent in Iowa, and 50-14 percent in New Hampshire.

NBC News noted that conservatives have been wary of Christie long before the Bridge-gate scandal rocked his chances of winning the GOP nomination.

"Chris Christie promised to change New Jersey’s liberal Supreme Court. Five openings later, no change," according to an ad from the group Judicial Crisis Network. "Instead a liberal Democrat for chief justice."

Conservatives were also angry that Christie embraced President Barack Obama before the 2012 presidential election after Hurricane Sandy slammed the Garden State, NBC News said.

Christie, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, will attend three fundraisers for Republican Gov. Terry Branstad in Iowa. He will travel to New Hampshire on July 31, NBC News said.

The Iowa poll of 392 Republicans was conducted July 7 to 13 and has a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points. The New Hampshire survey of 340 GOP voters was conducted July 7 to 13, and it has a margin of error of 5.3 percentage points.